This publication is authored by and reflected the views and opinion of Integrity Indonesia PT. More information about Integrity Indonesia PT is available on www.integrity-indonesia.com

Fraud and COVID-19 relief funds

The lockdowns, border control and social distancing measures taken against COVID-19 epidemic have contributed to further worldwide economic and financial upheaval. Many countries have entered an economic recession, and had to establish various economic recovery plans for employees and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), the social components most impacted. Grants, loans, tax breaks, and other forms of assistance were provided.

In the midst of any crisis, the management of relief funds is always vulnerable to fraud. The enormous amount of assistance funds, the lack of a legal and risk management framework for managing those funds, and the easier access to the funds without an appropriate degree of protection altogether entice fraud perpetrators. 

The UK claims to have lost more than £16 billion in Covid loan schemes. The Furlough and Bounce Back Loan Schemes (BBLS) schemes have been reported to suffer the most losses.

The US admits to being ‘robbed’ of hundreds of billions of dollars from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) schemes. 

Factors causing the loss of funds

In a disaster situation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the speed and precision at which relief funds are distributed is critical to rescuing millions of employees and companies. One of the initiatives taken by the UK and the US governments to speed the distribution of funds is by reducing the verification process or even eliminating it completely.

Unfortunately, ‘speed’ trumps caution and opens more doors for fraudsters, including experienced criminals. During the registration process through the BBLS scheme, for example, eligibility only depends on independent business certification without verification. Another concession is that the debtor does not need to perform a credit check against potential creditors.

The perpetrators take advantage of this leeway by executing their modus operandi, which are document falsification and identity theft. In one case in the US, the perpetrator falsified the financial information of two small businesses so that he was eligible for a loan under the EIDL scheme worth a total of 300.000 US dollars.

Several crime and bankruptcy agencies report that enormous amounts of relief funds are used to fund gambling, luxury purchases, renovation of private buildings, and even the funding of international criminal networks.

Aside from a lack of verification, another factor that raises the risk of fraud is a lack of oversight over the use of funds. Inadequate verification allows those who are not eligible for relief to receive it, leading the number of recipients to skyrocket.

The high volume, combined with a system that was not designed for monitoring, has led to an unavoidable misuse of funds. As is seen in one case where a doctor claimed to spend the cash to pay his employees’ salaries, in reality, the funds were used to purchase luxury goods.

A systemic flaw is closely related to weak internal controls and lack of transparency. 

Fraud investigation and mitigation

The mind-boggling and unacceptable number of losses prompted the UK and US governments to conduct thorough investigations. The investigations involved many relevant authorities to examine each recipient. The goal was to return as much of the lost funds as possible as a form of accountability to taxpayers.

Every business and individual that has received funding must prepare to undergo painstaking and time-consuming compliance checks. Those who are proven to be involved in acts of fraud may be subject to criminal and civil sanctions in accordance with the applicable laws of their country.

This step must support improvements to the functions of verification, internal control, supervision, and transparency of reports on the use of funds. After receiving input from various related institutions that conduct fraud studies, the UK and US governments are determined to make improvements to the verification steps of potential recipients of recovery funds in the next round.

In terms of internal control, strengthening can be done by implementing a whistleblowing system. This system allows individuals within the organization to report fraud red flags. As a result, fraud can be identified as early as feasible, minimizing potential loss.

This publication is authored by and reflected the views and opinion of Integrity Indonesia PT. More information about Integrity Indonesia PT is available on www.integrity-indonesia.com

This publication is authored by and reflected the views and opinion of Integrity Indonesia PT. More information about Integrity Indonesia PT is available on www.integrity-indonesia.com

Whistleblowing vs Leaks

The case of Julian Assange came into the spotlight once again after the British government gave permission for the extradition of the Wikileaks founder to the United States. Before being arrested and detained by British authorities, Assange hid in the Ecuadorian embassy for twelve years. With this extradition, the Australian will face a US court on 18 criminal charges and if convicted, could face up to 175 years in prison.

As one of the founders and a public persona of Wikileaks, Assange received many awards and accolades as well as lawsuits after his whistleblowing site published the secrets of various national authorities, including the USA. The leak of their confidential documents had quite a political impact on the nation.

In addition to Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning are among other whistleblowers who have been in the media spotlight and persecuted.

Media as a whistleblowing channel

Wikileaks is a non-profit media organization that was founded in 2006 with the aim of disseminating confidential information or documents from anonymous whistleblowers. As they are a non-profit organization, instead of competing with other mainstream media, Wikileaks works with them. In the Cablegate case, for example, Wikileaks provided thousands of classified documents to the four mainstream media before they were released to the public.

In general, the importance of the media as a whistleblowing channel is determined by the magnitude of the fraud or violation and its proximity to the public interest. The more critical the fraud, the closer it is to the public interest, the greater the public pressure due to negative publicity which is expected to encourage the organization to make improvements.

In the case of Wikileaks, the violations exposed are committed by a government and a policymaker, which are directly tied to the public interest.

Likewise with a nation, from the point of view of a company, engaging the media as a whistleblowing channel is not the preferred move since unfavorable exposure has an influence on reputation, which in turn impacts employee morale, sales, and investor views.

Therefore, implementing an effective whistleblowing system within the organization as a legal means to maintain the confidentiality of information is very important.

Why whistleblowers go to the media

A person decides to report a violation that occurs within the organization with the hope for improvement by the organization. However, there are several reasons why someone may report a violation to external parties or the media, instead of to the internal organization. These reasons include the high risk of retaliation from the organization, the lack of response from internal parties, and the desire to be an anonymous reporter.

In the case of Wikileaks, the disclosed violations revealed are committed by the government. A study revealed that the effectiveness of reporting to internal government channels is limited because government entities operate in a political context.

When the organization’s internal whistleblowing system runs ineffectively, in that it does not implement a whistleblower protection policy and does not respond well enough, the media becomes the logical choice in the hope that their reports will be taken seriously due to public pressure. Many surveys reveal that the majority of whistleblowers actually report their findings internally before they go to the media.

In addition to the choice of channel, a whistleblower will also choose whether to report anonymously to minimize the risk of retaliation. This pretty much explains why Wikileaks offers a channel for anonymous reports. However, anonymity can also damage the credibility of the report because it raises questions, for example, whether the whistleblower is really a member of the organization, etc.

This is the important role of independent media such as Wikileaks, which is to minimize credibility issues while protecting the identity of sources. Independent media can freely verify and investigate reports, in any form, provided by these anonymous sources without the intervention of any party. This is also a form of response which is usually not carried out by the government but is actually expected by the whistleblower.

Wikileaks itself claims that they test the veracity of a report using traditional investigative journalism techniques combined with current modern technology-based methods. This is to ensure the truth of the information provided by the reporter before it is disseminated to other media and released to the public.

Internal whistleblowing systems as an alternative to public media

Having learned from the story, organizations try to avoid negative publicity in the media. In order to achieve this, they need to ensure that they run effective internal whistleblowing systems.

The effective systems only work in open and ethical cultures, where employees are actively encouraged to report or raise concerns about any suspicious signs of wrongdoings. Employees will feel safe in making these reports if there are certain protection policies in place and if their reports are taken seriously. By implementing an effective whistleblowing system, an organization would essentially adhere to the values of transparency and candor.

Furthermore, whistleblowing systems have gained recognition as some of the most potent early fraud detection tools, with its own ISO guidelines with the release of ISO 37002:2021 on Whistleblowing Management Systems. Hence, the earlier fraud is detected, the smaller the potential loss the organization will suffer.

This publication is authored by and reflected the views and opinion of Integrity Indonesia PT. More information about Integrity Indonesia PT is available on www.integrity-indonesia.com

SwissCham Indonesia offers a “Structured Internship Support” to help you find the right intern and to support you in the process of conducting beneficial structured internships.

WHAT IS IT?

SwissCham Indonesia joined forces with S4C Project to offer support services for the implementation of structured internships, derived from a dual vocational education & training system. Aim to improve the quality and organization of internships by connecting the company and selected and quality Polytechnics across Indonesia. 

BENEFITS

Why Join Us:

SwissCham Structured Internship Support will improve the quality and organization of internships and ensure that they are more effective and beneficial for you! 

For Industry:

• Access to high quality workforce by skilling future employees 
• Boost productivity and increase competitive advantage
• Increase company visibility
• Cost-saving in recruitment 
• Potential Financial Incentives
• Enhance in-company trainer skills
• Mentorship opportunities for current employees

For Youth:

• Close labor gap – trained in specific skills demanded by the market
• Greater motivation – trained & developed in a business learning environment
• Job competitiveness upon graduation
• Economic Incentives
• Enhance professionalism – discipline and work ethics

STEPS TO JOIN THE SUPPORT

1. Request of support by company for joining the program
2. Sign LoI as a proof of commitment from company
3. Needs assessment to understand current internship structure within company and find any gaps
4. Matching specific poly/study program with company’s structured internship demand
5. In-CT (In-Company Trainer) selection
6. In-CT Training organized by SwissCham and partners, to strengthen your competencies for preparing & organizing a structured internship
7. Implementation of structured internship with close coordination between school and company, supported by SwissCham. 

SwissCham Indonesia is pleased to join forces with the Skills for Competitiveness (S4C) project in implementing this support! 

For more information about this support, please contact secretariat@swisscham.or.id

Join us and be part of a collective effort in improving the quality workforce for the future & to provide a life-changing experience for students!

Read our complete newsletter here

Dear SwissCham valued members,



Happy Ramadhan to our Muslim members and readers, and Happy Spring to our friends in Switzerland!

There are many wonderful traditions to mark Ramadhan in Indonesia. Hopefully, you will be able to enjoy this time with family, friends, and colleagues this year.

Even though we are still in the first quarter of 2022, we have seen many exciting highlights and activities as featured in the newsletter, and we are confident that this will continue well into the year.

In this issue, we will cover the important achievement of Switzerland being in the top 10 largest investors in Indonesia, the Young Professional Agreement coming into force, notable chamber activities, and other valuable updates from our members.

We hope you find the newsletter informative – happy reading!



Sincerely,

Chris Bendl

Chairman of SwissCham Indonesia

How Digital Forensics can Uncover Fraud at your Organization.

Source: Integrity Asia

Internet and information technology tools pervade all parts of life, enabling people to interact, network, access information, and learn in new, better, and faster ways. However, technology is a double-edged sword. It gives convenience but also opens more doors for criminals to commit any form of fraud, such as financial fraud, asset theft, tax evasion, and data fraud, just to name a few.

Organizations should utilize relevant technology to collect all available and related digital supporting evidence to prove that fraud has been committed.

Search for or recovering of evidence

Evidence is critical in exposing and proving a fraud case. Personal devices store histories of the owner’s behaviors, including personal email, a note on a personal device, a cloud-based document, etc., which are basically digital trails that can shed light on a fraud case and can be used as evidence.

When an employee is suspected of fraud, investigators may find themselves with no clues after conducting a comprehensive investigation. Hence, digital forensic examination of the suspect’s devices may be required.

Let’s take a case of procurement fraud involving a fictitious vendor, for instance. Evidence is needed to prove that the suspect is involved as the owner or at least as a beneficial party. In this case, digital forensics can be done by examining the suspect’s device and analyzing emails, documents, including invoices, which may be found to have been created on the device and in editable form. Also, it is commonly found for a fraudster to falsify evidence, such as editing a screenshot of a message. With digital forensics, this can be investigated to prove authenticity.

A fraudster may attempt to destroy evidence or erase his digital trails. Digital forensics is a rapidly growing field that entails not only searching but also recovering the destroyed data from digital devices to become admissible evidence in court. Data recovered from devices often serve as the foundation of an investigation. This is because typical data on a device can reveal much more information than one might first think of.

While some lost data are difficult to identify in their entirety, thanks to digital forensics, investigators are now able to utilize cutting edge tools to identify file metadata, such as the file creator, when the file was last created, when it was last accessed, etc. By examining the device activity, it is possible to uncover leads that point to crucial facts.

Challenges of digital evidence

It is important to note that digital evidence is volatile in nature because it is subject to change. Given that fact, the courts only admit evidence if its handling is in accordance with applicable forensic rules.

Having digital evidence at hand does not mean it will be readily admissible upon the court. Therefore, handling the digital evidence is critical. Mishandling of digital evidence during the acquisition can result in the court rejecting it.

Digital evidence must meet at least two criteria to be admissible, particularly in Indonesian courts: it must have a digital signature and follow a chain of custody procedure. Hence, it is essential that digital forensics be performed only by an experienced and certified specialist.

Team work

Digital forensic specialists should work with other investigative specialists. Forensic accounting investigators, for example, can assist digital forensic investigators by using specific keywords on computers or other digital media devices to save time and effort during the investigation and then sort out and interpret the gathered data.

Organizations of all sizes, particularly those with a high number of devices and data, require and rely on digital forensics to stay up with the rapid advancement of technology and the sophisticated crimes that accompany it.

—–

Your compliance partner

Read our complete newsletter here

Dear SwissCham valued members,

Season’s Greetings!

It’s hard to believe that 2021 is almost upon us, as we start to come together with family and friends whether face-to-face or online, I wish you a safe and enjoyable festive time.

2021 is a special year for us, where we celebrate the 70th anniversary of Switzerland and Indonesia diplomatic relations, we welcome the entry into force of Indonesia-EFTA CEPA, and the first time Switzerland entered into the top five list FDI in Indonesia in the first quarter of the year.

This year has been a year of change and resilience where we are able to deliver our mission and support our members’ needs. As a chamber, we completed the annual general meeting and are ready to move forward with an approved program for 2022 and a strong financial position.

This issue will cover the important achievements as above, the special appreciation to Mr. Wolfgang Schanzenbach, one of the initiators behind the founding of the chamber, highlights the chamber’s achievement through sectoral group activities, highlights of members’ achievements and also a warm welcome to our new members; PT. CNC Disain Nusantara, and Renewable Energy Skills Development (RESD) Project.

On behalf of board members, I would like to extend our gratitude to our members for your continuous support and contribution to the chamber in this very special year of the Switzerland – Indonesia relationship.

I wish you and your family an enjoyable festive season and a healthy and relaxing holiday. We look forward to continuing working and collaborating with you in an exciting 2022!

Chris Bendl

Chairman

Dear Valued Members, friends and families,

As the end of the year draws near, we would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your continued trust, support, and contributions. 

This year was a special one for the Swiss-Indonesia relationship. We truly enjoyed the exciting work we carried out this year, hosting a wide range of events and achieving new milestones with you. 

This year’s Q4 highlights and activities are featured here. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with all the latest news and activities. Also, make sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Here’s a fun idea to try this holiday season- send Christmas greetings using our filter! We guarantee smiles all around!

Thank you for being such an integral part of our growth in 2021 – we look forward to reaching new heights and successes with you! Until then, have a wonderful holiday season!

Mr. Wolfgang Schanzenbach will retire from the Swiss Business Hub Indonesia (SBH), which is part of the Embassy of Switzerland in Jakarta starting June 2022. Here, he shares below his journey from growing up in Switzerland, his professional carrier milestones until settling down in Jakarta.

Wolfgang will step down as the head of SBH Indonesia in May 2022, leaving a solid footprint in the Swiss business ecosystem in Indonesia in form of a well-established Swiss Business Hub Indonesia and a robust SwissCham Indonesia.

The 65-year-old will return to Switzerland and formally retire with his wife Yvonne at the beautiful Lake Zurich.

From Switzerland to Indonesia

Growing up in Thalwil, a Swiss village located 15 minutes outside of Zürich, Wolfgang Schanzenbach dreamed of exploring the world by becoming an astronaut or pilot. When he matured a little more, he realised that being a chef on a cruise ship could also become an entry door to fulfil his dreams. 

He went on to sign an apprenticeship agreement with Mövenpick restaurant group. However, the stressful working environment and irregular kitchen shift led him to think twice and he subsequently asked his father to cancel the contract.

After a transition year at school, he finally entered the international business arena with a leading Swiss freight & logistics company. He is a believer in lifelong learning, so he joined the “University of Life” which took him all around the world. His passion for travel and learning was underpinned by the motto he subscribed to; carpe diem– enjoy every day as if it would be your last one.

His first business trip brought him to Algeria, Northern Africa, where he was in charge of a project to build up a local TV production site. These initial experiences with the African continent also motivated him to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the continent’s highest mountain, at the age of 22.

Then, in the early 1980s, he made his inaugural business trip to Asia, visiting the famous Canton Fair, nowadays called Guangzhou. Shenzhen at that time was a little fishing village. Since then, Wolfgang has spent almost 40 years working and living in Asia. He traveled so frequently to this region he has accumulated nearly two million mileage points with Swiss International Airline.

The numerous trips to Asia spurred a fascination towards Southeast Asia, and he became a frequent visitor from the early to mid-1990s as a member of the DKSH Group. With their growing economies, these multicultural and multifaceted nations offered endless business opportunities. 

In 2010, he was delighted to find himself in Jakarta to attend a regional ambassador conference on behalf of Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE), the Swiss government-backed trade and investment promotion agency. 

Setting up a Swiss-Ecosystem in Indonesia

Against the backdrop of ongoing Free Trade Agreement negotiations, Wolfgang started to encourage the Swiss government and other stakeholders to invest in new Swiss Business Hub (SBH) offices across the region, especially in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy. 

In 2017, he finally received the green light to open the 22^nd SBH office in Jakarta in June 2017. Wolfgang was nominated to lead the team and to make sure Indonesia gets finally on the map of Swiss exporting companies.

The former Swiss Ambassador to Indonesia regularly hosted the “CEO breakfast meetings” for Swiss company representatives. During one session, Wolfgang asked the participating CEOs what they needed most. 

A soon conducted survey revealed that many were looking for a common networking and advocacy platform – and the idea for SwissCham Indonesia emerged. Wolfgang was invited to form a task force to finalise a project proposal covering legal frame conditions, cost estimates and rough timelines for the soon-to-be SwissCham Indonesia.

Together with Luthfi Mardiansyah, who would become the first Chairman, and Chris Bendl, his today’s successor, the team produced a joint project plan presented during the next “CEO Breakfast Meeting”.

Participants welcomed the proposal, and the event raised more than US$100,000 financial commitments on the spot! The hard work could finally start. Despite inevitable bureaucratic hurdles, the team successfully collected all the stamps and documents necessary. The inaugural annual general meeting took place on August 1, 2018, coincided with Switzerland’s National Day. 

More than thirty members attended the gathering and approved financial budgets, Articles of Association, Deed of Establishment and proposed an organizational structure. 

Through excellent teamwork and a typically pragmatic Swiss approach, SwissCham Indonesia was officially born – moreover, the mission was accomplished in less than four months! 

Since then, three years have passed, and SwissCham Indonesia has grown to nearly 70 members. It offers quality services to its members and has a committed board supported by an effective organisational structure. It also enjoys a very close cooperation with the Swiss Embassy in Jakarta, and finally yet importantly, is financially very stable despite difficult frame conditions (pandemic).

Besides that, the third relevant platform, Swiss Centre Indonesia (SCI) launched in 2019, offering one-stop services to incoming companies to explore the Indonesian market before either setting up a PT PMA or committing with a local partner. The SCI is wholly owned and managed by three Swiss citizens who run businesses in Indonesia and complements the local Swiss Ecosystem together with the Embassy/SBH Indonesia, and SwissCham Indonesia.

Wolfgang has truly enjoyed his time in Indonesia, both professionally and personally. He is now ready to embark on a new journey,  by getting involved in two to three possible ventures in his home country, with fun as the priority factor.

He wishes the entire SwissEcosystem continued success, sustainable growth, and many more happy companies and individual members, and offers these concluding remarks: “keep going for service excellence”.

Some interesting trivia about Wolfgang Schanzenbach:

1. His hobbies are tennis, golf, alpine skiing, hiking and wining & dining with friends.
2. His travel bucket list are the three “I’s”: Island, Ireland and Israel.
3. His fashion style: Italian designer icons like Armani and Zegna inspire him with their classic and timeless designs.
4. What does he unnecessarily spend a large amount of money for? Swiss-made watches and handbags for his wife.
5. A dream guest list for a dinner party (max. 5 people): King Roger Federer and GOAT tennis player whose career he closely witnessed during the last twenty years; the late actor Charles Bronson who was his “action hero” in the early days; the late Freddy Mercury, lead singer of Queen – who remains his absolute favourite pop group to this day; Charlize Theron with her classically elegant beauty; and last but not least, golfer Freddie Couples whose seamless and simple swing always impresses him.
6. Did you know that he played the clarinet when he was younger? He was also an active boy scout and a Catamaran (Tornado class) skipper.
7. What ticks does he have? Life is too short not to enjoy a well-prepared meal with quality wine, a Cuban cigar, and a glass of vintage port.
8. He is most afraid of being stuck in an elevator or undergoing MRI treatment, due to his claustrophobia.
9. He is grateful for pain-free days. After having undergone more than a dozen surgeries and managing several ongoing “construction sites” daily, waking up in the morning feeling fit is already a blessing and a good start to a new day.
10. His highlights in Indonesia include; Personally: celebrating his 60^th birthday with ten other close friends on a Phinisi (wooden) sailing boat and cruising along the famous Flores islands. Professionally: to have contributed to Indonesia coming into the radar of Swiss companies, which nowadays can bank on a variety of platforms for an easier settlement.
11. His one tip to the younger generation: to stay humble, don’t take anything for granted and contribute to society through your personal initiatives.

SwissCham Indonesia has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Swiss government agency Swisscontact, which is implementing the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)-funded Skills for Competitiveness (S4C) project in partnership with the Industry Ministry’s Industrial Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDMI).

Following the LoI signing, SwissCham also facilitated the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between SwissCham member companies and three S4C partner polytechnic institutes to bring experience and know-how to vocational education and training. This momentum builds on an earlier MOU that had been signed between the Indonesian and Swiss governments on Jan. 26, 2018 in Davos, Switzerland.

The MoU signing ceremony was attended and witnessed by the Swiss Ambassador to Indonesia, Kurt Kunz.

Switzerland is known for its strong dual Vocational Education and Training (dVET) system, based on a tradition of operational excellence working closely with the private sector to contribute to creating a competent workforce. To date, the country maintains a strong industry-driven dVET system, which is one of the key qualities of the Swiss economy.

Following the LoI signing, Buehler, Endress+Hauser, Givaudan, Indesso Primata, and Sicpa Peruri Securink joined hands to sign a MoU with three S4C partner polytechnic institutes, namely Jember State Polytechnic, Metal Industry Polytechnic of Morowali and Bantaeng Manufacturing Industry Community Academy.

fWith their long history and experience in dVET, the Swiss government and the Swiss companies are committed to continuously strengthening the quality and relevance of the polytechnic system in Indonesia.

The S4C project was born out of a direct demand for support from the Indonesian government to address the demand supply mismatch in the labor market and the skills mismatch through reinforcement of the relationship between the education system and local industry.

Its overall objective is to contribute to increasing the competitiveness of Indonesian industry in selected sectors through better-qualified professionals educated at five vocational education institutions, in sustainable cooperation with the private sector.

The project is built on two components; school development and system strengthening. This includes strengthening of school management capacities with a focus on industrial relations, supporting the development of teaching “factories” within the polytechnics, development of a teaching approach on dual training, and the upgrading and strengthening of teaching capacities.

Head of human capital sectoral group and vice chairman SwissCham Indonesia Henry Chia noted that the growing Indonesian economy will need not just more young people in the workforce, but better-trained ones, all the way from the shop floor to the top floor.

“The need for this is echoed well under the Making Indonesia 4.0 framework. Swiss companies operating in Indonesia highly value well practically trained professionals and are fully aware that the responsibility for the transfer of knowledge is in the hands of the industries and not the government. SwissCham members see the opportunity to form synergy by linking vocational schools that provide the students and companies with its technologies and resources, and a proven VET system adopted from Swiss institutions, could open up new space for more effective collaboration, benefiting all and to fuel Indonesia’s economic growth,” he explained.

Since the 1970s, Switzerland has been working with Indonesia in upskilling its workforce, which has resulted in a positive recognition by government partners and the public. Some of the key institutions supported include the National Hotel Institute (NHI Bandung) known today as STP Bandung, Politeknik Mekanik Swiss (PMS Bandung), known today as POLMAN Bandung; the Poly Development Center (PEDC in Bandung); Vocational Education Development Center (VEDC Malang) and the Training Center for Subject Matter Knowledge (SMK) Teachers; as well as Polytechnik Akademi Teknik Mesin Industri (ATMI) Solo, partially supported by the Swiss government.

Arus Gunawan, the head of the BPSDMI, said in his remarks that in order to develop the nation’s human capital, Indonesia will require major reforms to its education and vocational institutions.

“Enhancing the quality and relevance of vocational graduates to meet the needs of the private sector from both the vocational school and polytechnic levels will be an important success factor in enhancing global competitiveness, further reducing the skills mismatch and youth unemployment and contributing to a more competitive Indonesian economy. We have learned from the best and greatly appreciate the Swiss government’s commitment to sharing their expertise with us,” he continued.

From the private sector perspective, there are a number of collaboration opportunities to explore. This includes building up or expanding companies’ internal skills training programs, partnering with a training institution (polytechnics or vocational schools) along with a link and match program to do a dual training program. One of the signature programs was providing on-the-job training opportunities for teachers, instructors and students to gain practical insight experience, as well as assigning professionals from companies to be guest lecturers while engaging in curriculum-development processes.

“SwissCham and member companies are committed to supporting the government of Indonesia in developing its human capital and achieving operational excellence in industry. With more engagement, we can bring experience and know-how to vocational education and strengthen the competitiveness of the Indonesian economy,” Henry concluded.

Recently celebrating their 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Indonesia and Switzerland are strengthening their ties as partners for growth, marked by stronger diplomacy, the long-awaited beginning of the Indonesia – EFTA Comprehensive Economic Agreement and bilateral trade higher than ever before.